Noob

Noob

Noob

Noob

The Matchup against Kung Lao is really really hard (at least for me it is) BUT it's doable. There's this one guy on XBL who plays a REALLY REALLY good Kung Lao. If you want Kung Lao practice but can't get to JWong then look for Chriswis on XBL. Jump-ins are terribly unsafe at all times, since Kung Lao can always Spin to anti-air and juggle you all day for at least 40% damage. Kung Lao can also Anti-air Spin>X-Ray>quick juggle for a good 50%+i believe. Some Kung Laos won't throw the straight hat some will, it's just a matter of testing the waters so obviously Shake when you see his hat shine lol. REALLY IMPORTANT NOTICE: The mixup that completely messes you up is after the Roll one would think it's punishable on block, but it isn't. This is where the mind games begin, most likely that Kung Lao player will Spin right away and catch you on that +40% combo. Or if u keep blocking and they know you'll block they will Grab you. You CANNOT jump over them because Spin WILL catch you and IDK about jumping away. How you can stop this you say? well it's not that easy but at the same time it's really easy. Most likely a Kung Lao will Roll when they're at Jump Range to get in your face. This is when you predict this Roll and just do you and catch him on the roll. Yes it works, that's what I do to punish/prevent that. WATCH OUT for dive Kicks. They do A LOT of damage. Most likely a GOOD kung Lao will only Dive Kick during a combo or just to cover some ground. This is when you start to Dash>>Dash> towards him so that he doesn't whiff it on purpose and you block it instead and punish with a full combo. Teleport is interesting. When you were curious on who to main and you tried out Kung Lao and saw his teleport (or maybe back in the MK2 days) you say to yourself "wow this is fucking garbage" (i know i did). NO NO NO That teleport is AMAZING be VERY careful don't try to punish it or jump away, because you will get caught by the Bounce (teleport Bounce ) or you will get grabbed (dont think it grabs if you jump away). The Kung Lao corner game is BRUTAL but like I always say "when in doubt :en Shake". Kung Laos will use the + to chip you (it really chips a whole lot). OR they will jst do the start of it and stop to keep you blocking and grab you or sweep or pretty much whatever they want. A Kung Lao can make a mistake and do + and if you block that (it's an overhead) you can punish with a full combo. That's all i can say for now.

Noob

Noob

Noob

The Raiden match up is pretty hard, not only because he's top tier but his Electric Fly is super fast and will surprise a person as well as his teleport. When cornered it's really hard to get out because Raiden can do all day and trick you by canceling it with the Electric Fly and it can be very frustrating. Raiden can also Electric Fly in the air so watch out for that it will take out pretty far across the map and can corner you easily. Watch out when jumping in Raiden can juggle you with
Shocker(grab, it is blockable). or Vicinity BlastThat's is your main concern, Jumping in can give any smart Raiden the quick win just by catching you twice. Even when in low health do your best not to jump in or you WILL lose the round/mat ch. watch out for :en Lightning Ball he can combo from the second hit. Watch out for the teleports, they are very quick and can catch you of guard into a grab or even a combo setup. Not too big of a reason to Low because Raiden can overhead you all day so it’s up to you as a player to read when they will sweep you. When cornered :en Shake will come in extremely useful, especially after getting mindfucked with two Sweeps at wake-up or even when being rushed down :en Shake wins. So ALWAYS keep in mind against ANY character :en Shake when in doubt lol. So quick review...keep in mind to be careful with jump-ins, :en Shake when indoubt, read their mixups (1 or 2 sweeps at wake up) the idea thing to do on wkae up when being rushed is to low block until the opponent does something then the high block to stop the overhead (middle attacks), have a quick reaction to teleports or you will get caught off guard. this is all i got for now. All my posts are made from losing to all the things i metion or things i look out for to punish or try to punish. He's a very fast character so idk what combos can be punished on block. when i come across this information i will add on to this or just post it separate to show the update.

The Reptile match-up is pretty simple. Most Rpetiles after knocking you down try to Acid Ball to zone you so you have the option to wake-up with Shake or Teleport (i prefer shake). You also have to watch out for the slide so advance with caution and constant Dash>low >Dash>low etc. maybe throw a Smoke Cloud in there to keep them in check. Watch out for Acid Balls/Spits when you jump in. Getting hit by Acid Balls will cause you to take at least 36% dmg from juggleing and getting hit by an Acid Spit will do 8% damage and put you at their feet. Reptile can do a quick combo into Acid Ball juggle or a slower one for more damage. The faster one I BELIEVE (not sure about the starting 3 hits) it's :fAcid Ball, reptilian elbow, +, , Acid Ball (idk whats next). The slower one is the Acid Ball into the same combo. so that is what can really hurt you. other than that dont worry too much about their zoneing, don't random teleport either, watch out for Slides, :en Shake when cornered or rushed down (hope they dont sweep or low hit). They dont really turn invisible but if they do then just :en Smoke Cloud becuase of it's HUGE radius so they won't be able to jump right away. If there's anything else i missed or got wrong please point it out.

Noob

The match-up against Scorpion is pretty tricky. Dangers of being aggressive is being hit by either Teleports or Spears. Dangers of being too defensive is getting hit by Hellfires. When fighting Scorpion you can be aggressive on their wake-up, they don't have much that can get them out of a wake up , +, other than :en Teleport and i believe :en Hellfire (not sure about Hellfire). The Scorpion Hellfire is unblockable as well as uncounterable. The full screen block contest is in Scorpion's favor. Scorpion can Hellfire all day while your Smoke Cloud does not chip and it leaves you vulnerable for a Teleport. Jumping is ideal in this situation. When fighting a talented Scorpion they will try to Spear anti-air you, when you see them spear you can teleport. Hit or whiff it's in smoke's favor because you can land and , +, before they can , , spear you. After blocking , , you should + because they will most likely follow up with a Takedown or Spear(this will whiff), and then you can punish. Sometimes they will Hellfire if they're expecting the low . So it's up to you to read your opponent's decision. These are things to watch out for and keep in mind. The rest is up to you as a player to read your opponent and decide what you'll be doing.

Noob

Noob

Noob

Noob

The fight against Sub-Zero isn't really that bad since Sub-Zero can't zone Smoke due to lack to teleport or even an anywhere on screen unblockable (Hellfire). The main thing to watch out for is that slide which can catch people off guard and it knocks down. Also blocking Sub-Zero's , , (3rd hit is an overhead... high)combo opens up an amazing opportunity to quickly dash cancel into , +, combo. Ice clones you really shouldn't worry too much about them since you can stay away with Smoke Clouds or Teleports. The only time you should be careful when Sub-Zero clones is when jumping in. A talented Sub-Zero player will Ice Clone to counter your jump in. Even then it's hard to time since Sub-Zero can't clone if you're anywhere face-to-face with him. So I BELIEVE (not sure) that jumping over Sub-Zero is Clone-proof. Once again, a well-timed slide is an anti-air. Watch out for the X-Ray, don't underestimate the X-ray. It travels pretty far. When Sub-Zero has X-ray watch out on your jump ins, start blocking on their wake-up, don't teleport unless you combo. As for :en Counter idk if it can stop moves.

Noob

Noob

The fight against Sub-Zero isn't really that bad since Sub-Zero can't zone Smoke due to lack to teleport or even an anywhere on screen unblockable (Hellfire). The main thing to watch out for is that slide which can catch people off guard and it knocks down. Also blocking Sub-Zero's , , (3rd hit is an overhead... high)combo opens up an amazing opportunity to quickly dash cancel into , +, combo. Ice clones you really shouldn't worry too much about them since you can stay away with Smoke Clouds or Teleports. The only time you should be careful when Sub-Zero clones is when jumping in. A talented Sub-Zero player will Ice Clone to counter your jump in. Even then it's hard to time since Sub-Zero can't clone if you're anywhere face-to-face with him. So I BELIEVE (not sure) that jumping over Sub-Zero is Clone-proof. Once again, a well-timed slide is an anti-air. Watch out for the X-Ray, don't underestimate the X-ray. It travels pretty far. When Sub-Zero has X-ray watch out on your jump ins, start blocking on their wake-up, don't teleport unless you combo. As for :en Counter idk if it can stop moves.

Noob

Scorpion:scorpion:
The match-up against Scorpion is pretty tricky. Dangers of being aggressive is being hit by either Teleports or Spears. Dangers of being too defensive is getting hit by Hellfires. When fighting Scorpion you can be aggressive on their wake-up, they don't have much that can get them out of a wake up , +, other than :en Teleport and i believe :en Hellfire (not sure about Hellfire). The Scorpion Hellfire is unblockable as well as uncounterable. The full screen block contest is in Scorpion's favor. Scorpion can Hellfire all day while your Smoke Cloud does not chip and it leaves you vulnerable for a Teleport. Jumping is ideal in this situation. When fighting a talented Scorpion they will try to Spear anti-air you, when you see them spear you can teleport. Hit or whiff it's in smoke's favor because you can land and , +, before they can , , spear you. After blocking , , you should + because they will most likely follow up with a Takedown or Spear(this will whiff), and then you can punish. Sometimes they will Hellfire if they're expecting the low . So it's up to you to read your opponent's decision. These are things to watch out for and keep in mind. The rest is up to you as a player to read your opponent and decide what you'll be doing.

Noob

Riadenaiden:
The Raiden match up is pretty hard, not only because he's top tier but his Electric Fly is super fast and will surprise a person as well as his teleport. When cornered it's really hard to get out because Raiden can do all day and trick you by canceling it with the Electric Fly and it can be very frustrating. Raiden can also Electric Fly in the air so watch out for that it will take out pretty far across the map and can corner you easily. Watch out when jumping in Raiden can juggle you with
Shocker(grab, it is blockable). or Vicinity BlastThat's is your main concern, Jumping in can give any smart Raiden the quick win just by catching you twice. Even when in low health do your best not to jump in or you WILL lose the round/match. watch out for :en Lightning Ball he can combo from the second hit. Watch out for the teleports, they are very quick and can catch you of guard into a grab or even a combo setup. Not too big of a reason to Low because Raiden can overhead you all day so it’s up to you as a player to read when they will sweep you. When cornered :en Shake will come in extremely useful, especially after getting mindfucked with two Sweeps at wake-up or even when being rushed down :en Shake wins. So ALWAYS keep in mind against ANY character :en Shake when in doubt lol. So quick review...keep in mind to be careful with jump-ins, :en Shake when indoubt, read their mixups (1 or 2 sweeps at wake up) the idea thing to do on wkae up when being rushed is to low block until the opponent does something then the high block to stop the overhead (middle attacks), have a quick reaction to teleports or you will get caught off guard. this is all i got for now. All my posts are made from losing to all the things i metion or things i look out for to punish or try to punish. He's a very fast character so idk what combos can be punished on block. when i come across this information i will add on to this or just post it separate to show the update.

Reptileeptile:
The Reptile match-up is pretty simple. Most Rpetiles after knocking you down try to Acid Ball to zone you so you have the option to wake-up with Shake or Teleport (i prefer shake). You also have to watch out for the slide so advance with caution and constant Dash>low >Dash>low etc. maybe throw a Smoke Cloud in there to keep them in check. Watch out for Acid Balls/Spits when you jump in. Getting hit by Acid Balls will cause you to take at least 36% dmg from juggleing and getting hit by an Acid Spit will do 8% damage and put you at their feet. Reptile can do a quick combo into Acid Ball juggle or a slower one for more damage. The faster one I BELIEVE (not sure about the starting 3 hits) it's :fAcid Ball, reptilian elbow, +, , Acid Ball (idk whats next). The slower one is the Acid Ball into the same combo. so that is what can really hurt you. other than that dont worry too much about their zoneing, don't random teleport either, watch out for Slides, :en Shake when cornered or rushed down (hope they dont sweep or low hit). They dont really turn invisible but if they do then just :en Smoke Cloud becuase of it's HUGE radius so they won't be able to jump right away. If there's anything else i missed or got wrong please point it out.

Noob

Noob

The Matchup against Kung Lao is really really hard (at least for me it is) BUT it's doable. There's this one guy on XBL who plays a REALLY REALLY good Kung Lao. If you want Kung Lao practice but can't get to JWong then look for Chriswis on XBL. Jump-ins are terribly unsafe at all times, since Kung Lao can always Spin to anti-air and juggle you all day for at least 40% damage. Kung Lao can also Anti-air Spin>X-Ray>quick juggle for a good 50%+i believe. Some Kung Laos won't throw the straight hat some will, it's just a matter of testing the waters so obviously Shake when you see his hat shine lol. REALLY IMPORTANT NOTICE: The mixup that completely messes you up is after the Roll one would think it's punishable on block, but it isn't. This is where the mind games begin, most likely that Kung Lao player will Spin right away and catch you on that +40% combo. Or if u keep blocking and they know you'll block they will Grab you. You CANNOT jump over them because Spin WILL catch you and IDK about jumping away. How you can stop this you say? well it's not that easy but at the same time it's really easy. Most likely a Kung Lao will Roll when they're at Jump Range to get in your face. This is when you predict this Roll and just do you and catch him on the roll. Yes it works, that's what I do to punish/prevent that. WATCH OUT for dive Kicks. They do A LOT of damage. Most likely a GOOD kung Lao will only Dive Kick during a combo or just to cover some ground. This is when you start to Dash>>Dash> towards him so that he doesn't whiff it on purpose and you block it instead and punish with a full combo. Teleport is interesting. When you were curious on who to main and you tried out Kung Lao and saw his teleport (or maybe back in the MK2 days) you say to yourself "wow this is fucking garbage" (i know i did). NO NO NO That teleport is AMAZING be VERY careful don't try to punish it or jump away, because you will get caught by the Bounce (teleport Bounce ) or you will get grabbed (dont think it grabs if you jump away). The Kung Lao corner game is BRUTAL but like I always say "when in doubt :en Shake". Kung Laos will use the + to chip you (it really chips a whole lot). OR they will jst do the start of it and stop to keep you blocking and grab you or sweep or pretty much whatever they want. A Kung Lao can make a mistake and do + and if you block that (it's an overhead) you can punish with a full combo. That's all i can say for now.

Noob

well i havn't had experience with either one of them all i can say is "when in doubt :en Shake" (for both). For Johnny Cage just be careful on wake up, they will Flash Kick or Shadow Kick and they're both relatively safe but still punishable. I THINK you can + Cage out of the air after blocking his Flash Kick i haven't tried it but let me know if it works. as for Liu Kang i say try and play for keep-away game, countering his fireballs and baiting them Flying/Bicycle Kick for an easy punish. That's all the info. i can give you. Hope that helps

right now im busy with school and writing each match up takes a lot of my time xD so ill be posting after May20th which is my last day of school.

Noob

I tried to get the folks on SRK to start talking about Smoke matchups, but it didn't work. Everyone's just too fascinated by flashy combos atm I guess.

Anyway, since discussion is actually happening here, I'll post my takes on the matchups I wrote about. Two of them are duplicates, but hey, more opinions can't hurt.

Also, I wrote a Smoke guide on SRK because there wasn't one there at the time. I see that there are two here, but I think that mine is a little more detailed and geared towards actually playing rather than just combo practice. If you guys could take a quick look and let me know if I should port it here, please let me know. Obviously, I'd be able to get rid of the matchup section though

Cyber Sub-Zero

Matchup: Probably 5/5

Strategy: Your general goal is to stay away and bait freeze blasts. He beats you up close, and you beat him from far away. However, if he does get in and get a life lead, you may need to launch a counter assault because he can turtle pretty safely against you.

Early jump kicks beat his dive kicks, and if you catch him low enough you get 39% to his 7% (or 18% with meter). That's way in your favor, so try to stop his dive kick pressure that way (watch his meter though - his x-ray beats jump kicks and looks just like he's going in for a normal dive kick). He can mix it up with jump punches to beat your jump kicks, but he doesn't get too much damage off of that either if you're in the air. Beat jump punches with a backwards jump kick.

At long range, a trade between smoke bomb and freeze is in his favor, as he gets a full combo. However, smoke bomb is much faster than freeze, so it's still safe to pressure with that if he's blocking for free meter. Just make sure to block the incoming freeze. He might learn that slide beats smoke bomb clean (it'll whiff), so if he figures that out be more conservative with smoke bombs.

Shake is by far the best way to deal with freezes if you know they're coming. It's safe and the damage is unavoidable. This means that Cyber Sub can't really zone you too well.

Up close is where Cyber Sub has the advantage. He has fast high/lows that you'll have trouble out-prioritizing. Don't be afraid to en:shake to get him off of you.

If you're noticeably behind on life and he's turtling you, you may need to rush him down. It's very hard to do so, but it's sometimes necessary. Cross-up punches, as always, are a good way to get some damage, as they screw up his parry input. Your combos greatly out damage his, so one clean hit should be enough to go back to a spacing game. Watch out for parries - they're fast. Sweep if you think it's coming then go for a cross up jump punch on wakeup.

Ermac
Matchup: Probably 5/5

Strategy: You have advantage at full screen, disadvantage at mid screen, and are about even close up.

At full screen, throw smoke bombs and hold block right after. If Ermac tries to fireball, it trades with smoke bomb in your favor (8% to 12% even without a combo, and you get okizime). If he tries to teleport punch on reaction to your bombs, you'll block it and he'll eat a combo. Try to vary your timing on the bombs, as he can only teleport punch if he correctly guesses the timing of your bomb and teleports at the same time. Smart Ermacs will realize this disadvantage and will block-dash to about mid screen. You need to counter his spacing with your own teleports.

At mid screen, your goal is to get in or get out. Ermac beats you badly here. If you jump, he can force push you out of it. If you throw a smoke bomb, he can threaten to jump punch in on you for huge damage. You need to block-dash in or out and not try anything risky.

Up close, both of you are about the same threat level. Ermac's 2, 2 combo is decently fast but you can duck under it cleanly. His B+1, 1, 4 combo hits special mid but is very slow, so if you're crouching you can poke out of it. Either of these combos leads to very big damage, however, so watch out. Meanwhile, you have your 44% combo with 3, D+1, 2, and you can threaten a fast overhead with B+2 for 35%, and you have a fast sweep for 7% + okizime. Neither of you really like being up close, so depending on the opponent and how comfortable you are up close you may be able to get the advantage here.

If you score a knockdown, Ermac has no answer to cross up jump punch on wakeup. Do that into a sweep/overhead/throw mixup.

Noob

At full screen he can only toss his hat at you and teleport. Hat loses to shake and smoke bomb badly. He can teleport, but you can uppercut that on reaction. His only real options are block-dashing, whiffing a dive kick, and en:teleport.

Up close, Lao absolutely wrecks you. Spin beats out all of your normals, and you have a very hard time punishing it with your slow normals (you might be able to get a smoke bomb, but I'm not sure and can't test it). He can mix it up with throws, a very fast low combo into spin, and his usual 1, 1, 2 spin. You can't win at point blank, and your primary goal is to get him off of you. En:shake can be a good desperation move. Your sweep goes under his 1, 1, 2 and out-ranges most of what he has. Block dashing backwards can work, as can enhanced teleports backwards.

Don't ever jump. He can punish it on reaction at any range. From far away, he gets a free dive kick. Up close, he gets a spin into a combo. It might be a good idea to bring a separate controller/stick with a broken up button for this matchup.

Note to Lamb: You can actually punish Lao's teleport on reaction with uppercut. It stuffs everything he can do out of it. The proper way to use teleport with Lao is meaty on wakeup so that the opponent can't do anything when he's dangling in the air and vulnerable. He can also use it if you're not standing still or if he predicts a move, but AFAIK smoke bomb is too fast to time to be safe like that.

Sub-Zero

Matchup: IMO, 5.5/4.5 Smoke/Sub, possibly 6/4. Smoke has a lot of advantages over Sub, and Sub is forced to play a totally different game than he's used to.

Strategy: Sub-Zero is a zoning character. You're an anti-zoning character. Outzone him and force him to make mistakes.

Don't rush in on him when he throws down an ice clone. Wait for ice blasts and punish with shake. Be sure to block incoming slides and punish. He'll eventually learn that he has to come to you, as he has absolutely no options to deal with your ranged game.

Unfortunately, Sub-Zero has pretty good rushdown. He can threaten a quick mid or low at pretty much any time. His damage is decent, especially if he has full meter.

That means that you need to force him try to get in, but not actually let him in. Punish his mistakes as he tries to get in, and if/when he does get in, be very careful. Don't jump to get in on him. He can threaten an ice clone at any point if he detects that you'll get aggressive, so stay calm. Cross-up jump punches are good against him if you need to launch an offense.

This match is all about getting someone to make mistakes. He can aggravate you into doing something stupid and punish pretty well. However, remember that you control the pace of the match, so make sure that you're the one causing the frustration, and capitalize on his mistakes with your big damage combos.

Noob

Note to Lamb: You can actually punish Lao's teleport on reaction with uppercut. It stuffs everything he can do out of it. The proper way to use teleport with Lao is meaty on wakeup so that the opponent can't do anything when he's dangling in the air and vulnerable. He can also use it if you're not standing still or if he predicts a move, but AFAIK smoke bomb is too fast to time to be safe like that.

Yeah that is very true but you have to be really expecting it. If you stop to think for even a tiny moment and try to punish it you WILL get hit. It's more of a reaction punish than anything.

as for Sub-Zero. Yeah rush down with cross ups so you mess up his Ice Clone input even then the ice clone will not come out if it would instantly freeze you. You can punish his Ice Clone with a simple Teleport. Sub is still recovering from Ice Clone. Of course it's risky if u time it wrong you can always get punished.